Competitor Group Ends Elite Support (Read 613 times)

spaniel - I think Julia was referring to a suggestion that some elites are only coming and racing -- that they are not giving back to the community (eg, by talking with and encouraging non-elite runners, by giving interviews to support local media and articles, by participating briefly in local running communities in some way). The article mentioned that language barrier may be a major factor here, but still, flying in, racing, taking the money, and leaving pretty quickly, without communicating much to locals, might be seen as a failure to provide much benefit to the local community.

I saw a single example given of some Japanese elite coming and not performing. Outside of that, just from observation, the vast majority of elite runners seem to give it their best in races. But it's a marathon, things don't always go as expected, so a DNF or poor performance does not always mean lack of effort. If I missed examples given, please correct me, I can't say I read everything.

FWIW, I don't think the CGI decision has anything whatsoever to do with how hard the elites were trying to deliver. CGI just decided they don't care about performance, period.

In other news, next week I am going to run a Color Run "event", and at the finish I will either spontaneously combust or vomit uncontrollably.

I think it's more about before and after the race that makes us hobby joggers feel connected to the front runners. If we don't see you at the Expo or award ceremony, we forget you were there at all.

+1 re the decision making.

I predict implosion. LOL! A color run?!

“What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight – it’s the fight in the dog. – Dwight D. Eisenhower

That's where I think CGI gets it wrong when they claim they are doing this for the back-of-the-pack runners.

Just because a runner finishes in the back of the pack, doesn't mean that they necessarily don't care about racing. I've seen (and respected) people who finish with relatively slow times that are out there giving 100%. They are clearly racing to the best of their abilities. These folks are probably just as thrilled and inspired as I am to meet a Meb, Deena or any other elite at the pre-race expos, and get a charge out of running in a race with them. There aren't many sports where you actually get to participate with (well, behind) the world's best.

OTOH, it's the people that stop for lunch, get bored easily, etc., that CGI is catering to.

It may ultimately end up being a self-fulfilling prophecy. That is, if they build the race a certain way, those they are aiming for will come. (at least until the running fad ends).

"...it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that if a company won’t support the best athletes in a sport, it doesn’t really care about the sport."

Yep. I think simply put, we all knew that Competitor group didn't care about the sport from the beginning. The decision to support the elites or not was simply a business decision. They were never 'supporting' them, they were merely making a business decision they felt would make their races more prestigious and profitable.

Living in New England RnR events are entirely off my radar. Our year round race calendar is like an embarrassment of riches. So, I hit the RnR website and couldn't help to notice that elites are featured prominently and often in the photo galleries. But when they weren't photos were often stuff like this.

"...it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that if a company won’t support the best athletes in a sport, it doesn’t really care about the sport."

They are still providing a venue for thousands of runners - including the best athletes in the sport - to run.

And, is this going to be the litmus test that we judge race organizers - whether they're supporting the development of the sport? Because I'm guessing a lot of charity runs would fail that test. They're primary motivation is to raise money for their cause. I'm not sure how much they're giving back to the sport either.

“What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight – it’s the fight in the dog. – Dwight D. Eisenhower

I'm guessing a lot of charity runs would fail that test. They're primary motivation is to raise money for their cause. I'm not sure how much they're giving back to the sport either.

Charity runs usually aren't for profit entities and the cause of the run us usually part of the advertised promise. I'd also say these smaller runs make up a large amount of runs around the country and are well priced. That's giving a lot to the sport in that they provide great venues for us to get out thing on just about any weekend we want to.

Charity runs usually aren't for profit entities and the cause of the run us usually part of the advertised promise. I'd also say these smaller runs make up a large amount of runs around the country and are well priced. That's giving a lot to the sport in that they provide great venues for us to get out thing on just about any weekend we want to.

Good points. And, I don't have a gripe against these events but I don't tend to run them. In many instances, I feel like the race is a bit of an afterthought and if I really cared about the cause, I should just write a check.

(Sigh). I can't believe I've been defending RnR. I give up. Plus, the workweek is here.

“What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight – it’s the fight in the dog. – Dwight D. Eisenhower

I'm disappointed that they have decided that they don't want to have anything to do with the advancement of the SPORT that I love. I do see the point that Cox and Herron have made, though. 99% of these runners are boring as shit. I love seeing some fast times, but more often than not, they add little else to race/event.

Usain Bolt is the biggest name in running right now. He is absolutely amazing, but how much of his appeal to a large audience (and his marketability) is due to his huge personality? If he just ran, collected his paycheck, and went home, he would not be a household name. Nick Symmonds speaks out, runs beer miles, races fast, and is the kind of personality we need to see more of in this sport.

Road racing and T&F even fail to pull in regular runners as fans. How many RA'ers could spot Tirunesh Dibaba if she was standing right next to them? Runners can't even market themselves to people that like to run. How many of the really big names in this sport have a regular blog, not just an occasional contribution to a running mag? I think the pro runners need to do more than just run if they expect to make a living at this sport.